Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to make a plan to follow up.
Speaker 1: So often people take an initial silence or noncommittal answer
Speaker 1: as a no, and sometimes it is a no, but
Speaker 1: sometimes it isn't, which is why it pays to follow up.
Speaker 1: Let's picture this scenario. You are reaching out to someone
Speaker 1: that a friend suggested you meet. Maybe this person works
Speaker 1: at a company you've long been intrigued by, where you
Speaker 1: might like to work some day too. You write a
Speaker 1: note introducing yourself and asked to talk. The person replies
Speaker 1: that she is slammed right now, but can we follow
Speaker 1: up next month? What do you do with this? A
Speaker 1: great many people simply interpreted as no. Another rather high
Speaker 1: proportion of people decide that this means what it means
Speaker 1: this month is really busy, but they don't make a
Speaker 1: plan to do anything with that information. Time passes and
Speaker 1: they move on to other things. Somewhere in the back
Speaker 1: of their minds, they remember that this was a potential contact,
Speaker 1: but even that gets mushy after the weeks go by,
Speaker 1: so nothing happens. Then there are some folks who write
Speaker 1: back with sounds good, I will follow up next month.
Speaker 1: Then they put it on their calendars on a specific
Speaker 1: date early in the next month to reach out again.
Speaker 1: On that date, they write a follow up note, revisiting
Speaker 1: the initial request. Which approach do you think is more effective?
Speaker 1: Following up doesn't always yield results, but it's far more
Speaker 1: likely to yield results than doing nothing. I mean, let's
Speaker 1: face it, someone you reached out to is probably not
Speaker 1: going to remember to follow up with you. It's up
Speaker 1: to you to make it happen. So it's up to
Speaker 1: you to have a system to make it happen. This
Speaker 1: really doesn't need to be that complicated. If you ask
Speaker 1: and someone suggests a better time for following up, take
Speaker 1: them at their word. Next week means sending a follow
Speaker 1: up note next Monday. Next month means sending a follow
Speaker 1: up note on the first work day of the following month.
Speaker 1: Next year means the first work day of the new year. Now,
Speaker 1: I will admit that anyone punting you off to the
Speaker 1: next year might not be a completely great prospect, But
Speaker 1: you never know. Maybe they had tons of business last
Speaker 1: year and none this year. Maybe this person is now
Speaker 1: in need of help themselves help you might be able
Speaker 1: to offer in addition to whatever you are asking from them.
Speaker 1: There is no harm done by sending a follow up note.
Speaker 1: Sending a dozen notes to a person can bend into
Speaker 1: the realm of being uncomfortable for everyone, but two or
Speaker 1: three doesn't cross into that category at all, And often
Speaker 1: people do just get busy. We all go through times
Speaker 1: when we are overcommitted or our work cycles are at
Speaker 1: their peak. An accountant might want to talk with you
Speaker 1: about the neighborhood committee, but not on March. Follow up
Speaker 1: in late April, when she tells you she is emerging
Speaker 1: from busy season and you are far more likely to
Speaker 1: get a yes. Do you have any great stories from
Speaker 1: having a system for following up? If so, I'd love
Speaker 1: to hear about them. You can reach me at Laura
Speaker 1: at Laura Vanderkamp dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four then
Speaker 1: breakfast p O d. You can also shoot me an
Speaker 1: email at before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks
Speaker 1: so much, I look forward to staying in touch. Before
Speaker 1: Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For more
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